Founder and CEO Tom McLeod at the 2025 industry event (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)
Important points:
- McLeod Software released TMS version 26.1 on March 3, adding real-time benchmarking and AI-supported communication tools.
- This update is important because new analytics and RespondAI capabilities aim to speed up operational decision-making and reduce communication delays that often exceed 40 minutes.
- McLeod said upcoming MPact modules, including bidding and profitability, will further expand proactive data-centric capabilities for carriers and brokers.
McLeod Software introduced version 26.1 of its transportation management system on March 3, adding analytical tools aimed at helping carriers and freight brokers make faster operational decisions.
real-time benchmark tool
The new module MPact.Benchmark compares a carrier’s performance in the North American truckload market against its peer group in real time. McLeod said the tool leverages live operational data through direct integration with the company’s TMS, allowing users to identify favorable or unfavorable trends and identify possible causes.
The company says the module is aimed at executives and business leaders who want to evaluate cash flow and performance metrics more quickly than traditional benchmarking methods, which typically rely on historical data. McLeod said the tool was built to answer executives’ questions about what data reveals and how organizations should respond.
“The freight market moves too quickly to make decisions on the fly,” said Tom McLeod, president and CEO. “By extending MPact, we will be able to offer our customers a smarter, faster way to manage profitability, bid strategies, benchmarking, and communications.”
Communication function using AI
The update also extends MPact.RespondAI, a tool McLeod described as a way to address slow and fragmented communications between fleets, drivers and customers. The company said mobile response times often exceeded 40 minutes, leading to business delays.
RespondAI consolidates emails, mobile messages, and incoming inquiries into a single inbox within your TMS. Its features include AI-assisted quoting, order creation, message composition, and analytics to track response times. McLeod says these features can cut communication delays by more than half.
This module also displays driver and load information within TMS without requiring the user to view any additional screens. RespondAI integrates with Microsoft Outlook and Gmail, and McLeod says more back-office communication tools are planned for future releases.
Planned additions to the MPact suite
McLeod said additional modules are being developed as part of a broader product roadmap. MPact.Bid is designed to aid in the freight bidding process, while MPact.Profitability is expected to provide more detailed insight into load volumes and lane margins to aid pricing decisions by carriers and brokers.
The company said these modules are aimed at helping organizations move from reactive decision-making to more proactive, data-centric operations.
Generative AI contributed to this article.
